Each House has a ruler in Geomancy, but this House rulership is not based on the zodiac signs.

The
zodiac signs are CELESTIAL HOUSES. So, Mars is the ruler of the CELESTIAL HOUSE of Aries. The Sun is
exalted in the CELESTIAL HOUSE of Aries. And so on.

The Houses that we give practical meanings to (House 2 = money; House 5 = children) are MUNDANE
HOUSES. These have different planetary rulerships based on the Chaldean order of the planets. This is
the complete listing:

House 1: Saturn
House 2: Jupiter
House 3: Mars
House 4: Sun
House 5: Venus
House 6: Mercury
House 7: Moon
House 8: Saturn
House 9: Jupiter
House 10: Mars
House 11: Sun
House 12: Venus

It is from these Mundane House rulerships that we derive many of the "natural rulerships" of the
Planets. For instance, Jupiter is the natural ruler of prosperity because it governs House 2, where money
and possessions are located. Mars is the natural ruler of brothers because it governs House 3, where
siblings are located. The Sun is the natural ruler of fathers because it governs House 4, where the father
is located. Saturn is the natural ruler of manifestation and incarnation, and also of death, because he
governs both Houses 1 and 8, the gates through which we enter and depart from physical life.

As for strength, weakness, sorrow, and joy . . . many authors give lists for these. Some of these lists do
not make sense. First, many authors equate House 1 with Aries, and therefore make Puer strong in
House 1. But House 1, as we see above, is a mundane house ruled by Saturn, not by Mars. Second,
mundane houses have separate systems of strength. Any figure in a CARDINAL HOUSE (1, 4, 7, 10) is
STRONG. Any figure in a SUCCEEDENT HOUSE is MIDDLING (2, 5, 8, 11). Any figure in a CADENT HOUSE
(3, 6, 9, 12) is WEAK. What this would mean, though, is that any question dealing with House 4 would
have a strong significator in it, but any question dealing with House 6 would have a weak significator in
it. That does not comport with what we know of life. For instance, there are STRONG illnesses, and so a
figure in House 6 could potentially be very strong there.

The best thing to do is to evaluate each figure and its ruling planet in terms of the question and the
subject matter of the House under consideration. There are guides and clues in each Master Meaning
post to help you think things through. We must think for ourselves, not rely on lists. If you have
questions about a particular figure in a particular House for a particular question, feel free to post a
question under the Contact Information post.
The primary uses of the CELESTIAL HOUSES, i.e., the Zodiac signs, in geomancy, is the same usage as
they have in traditional astrology -- as descriptors for the geomancy figures.

Some examples:
The celestial houses, i.e., the zodiac signs, can be useful as descriptors linked to the geomantic figures.
But that's about it.

Some examples:

(1) How did Mr. X die? Laetitia in House 8. Laetitia = Pisces. Answer: A watery-type of death.

(2) Will my girlfriend apologize to me? Populus in House 7. Populus = Cancer. Cancer is a MUTE sign.
Answer: No, she will not apologize.

(3) Will my investments grow this year? Fortuna Minor in House 2. Fortuna Minor = Leo. Leo is a BARREN
sign: Answer: No, the investments will not grow this year.

(4) Should I buy the race horse? Amissio in House 12. Amissio = Taurus. Taurus is a MAIMED sign, also
FIXED. Answer: No. Do not buy the race horse. It does not run very fast (FIXED), and it may have
something wrong with it (MAIMED).

See the Reference post on ZODIAC SIGNS for additional information